Congratulations to IRM faculty member, Andrew Modzelewski for being named a Searle Scholar! Dr. Modzelewski joins the 2023 class of 15 Searle Scholars pursuing ground-breaking research in chemistry and the biomedical sciences.
The Searle Scholars Program makes grants to selected universities and research institutes to support the independent research of exceptional young faculty in the biomedical sciences and chemistry.
Detailed announcement can be found here.
New study at the University of Pennsylvania led by Alex Hughes, PhD shows that the physiological functions of several organs rely on branched epithelial tubule networks bearing specialized structures for secretion, gas exchange, or filtration. He adds, “Little is known about conflicts in development between building enough tubules for adequate function and geometric constraints imposed by organ size. We show that the mouse embryonic kidney epithelium negotiates a physical packing conflict between increasing tubule tip numbers through branching and limited organ surface area.”
Read more about this research in Volume 58, Issue 2 of Developmental Cell.
Project BioEYES, an award winning education program that engages students as scientists, marks its 20th anniversary this month! Since its founding in 2002 by Drs. Jamie Shuda and Steven Farber, Project BioEYES has reached over 65,000 students, placing many on the path to further education and STEM careers.
BioEYES is a K-12 science education program which provides classroom-based learning opportunities through the use of live zebrafish. It is designed to incorporate teacher empowerment and provides professional development seminars and a co-teaching experience with trained science consultants, called outreach educators.
Initially launched in Philadelphia, BioEYES has spread to partner sites across the country and around the world.
You can help us celebrate 20 years of science in the classroom and support future scientists! Learn more about how you can help and donate today.
For her work pinpointing the underlying, genetic causes of a pair of devastating neurological diseases, the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania awarded Huda Zoghbi, MD the second Elaine Redding Brinster Prize in Science or Medicine. Zoghbi’s research advanced the field’s conceptual understanding of how gene expression can influence neurological health, even in non-inherited disorders.
“Dr. Zoghbi’s interests in the basis for neurological disorders were sparked by her initial observations in the clinic. It was an exceptional path from there to revealing how mutations in a methyl-DNA binding protein cause Rett’s syndrome and how expansion of DNA repeat sequences cause spinocereballar ataxia 1,” said Ken Zaret, PhD, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the Joseph Leidy Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology. “We are thrilled that Dr. Zoghbi is the second awardee of the Elaine Redding Brinster Prize.”
The prize, supported by an endowment from the children of Elaine Redding Brinster, is awarded annually to a researcher whose singular discovery has made a unique impact on biomedicine. Each winner receives $100,000, a commemorative medal, and an invitation to present a ceremonial lecture at the University of Pennsylvania.
Zoghbi will accept the prize March 15, 2023, as part of the day-long Ralph L. Brinster Symposium. The symposium will feature several eminent speakers from across the biomedical sciences, including Janet Rossant, PhD, of the University of Toronto, Lynne Maquat, PhD, of the University of Rochester, Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, of Stanford University, and Lorenz Studer, MD, of Memorial-Sloan Kettering.
Read more in Penn Medicine News